Which statement best describes construct validity?

Which statement best describes construct validity?

• A. It measures the intended theoretical construct as predicted by hypotheses.
• B. It yields consistent results over time.
• C. It has high sensitivity.
• D. It has high specificity.

Answer: (A)

Construct validity asks whether a measurement actually captures the theoretical construct it is meant to assess, in line with the hypotheses about how that construct should relate to other variables. Evidence for this comes from patterns of relationships predicted by theory—for example, the measure should correlate with related constructs (convergent validity) and show weaker or no relationships with unrelated ones (discriminant validity). It’s about the instrument behaving the way theory says it should, not just about being consistent or about diagnostic test properties. Reliability describes consistency of the measure over time or across items, which is necessary but not sufficient for validity. Sensitivity and specificity describe a diagnostic test’s ability to identify true positives and true negatives, which pertains to diagnostic accuracy rather than whether a scale truly targets the intended theoretical construct. So a statement that best describes construct validity is that the measure captures the intended theoretical construct as predicted by hypotheses—demonstrated by the expected patterns of relationships with other variables.

Construct validity asks whether a measurement actually captures the theoretical construct it is meant to assess, in line with the hypotheses about how that construct should relate to other variables. Evidence for this comes from patterns of relationships predicted by theory—for example, the measure should correlate with related constructs (convergent validity) and show weaker or no relationships with unrelated ones (discriminant validity). It’s about the instrument behaving the way theory says it should, not just about being consistent or about diagnostic test properties.

Reliability describes consistency of the measure over time or across items, which is necessary but not sufficient for validity. Sensitivity and specificity describe a diagnostic test’s ability to identify true positives and true negatives, which pertains to diagnostic accuracy rather than whether a scale truly targets the intended theoretical construct.

So a statement that best describes construct validity is that the measure captures the intended theoretical construct as predicted by hypotheses—demonstrated by the expected patterns of relationships with other variables.